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Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk and engineers were aware that the Autopilot system in the automaker’s vehicles was defective, but these cars were still allowed to be on the road, a judge ruled last week, according to a Reuters report.
The case relates to Stephen Banner, who died in 2019 after his Model 3, which was on Autopilot mode, crashed into an 18-wheeler truck north of Miami.
“It would be reasonable to conclude that Tesla (TSLA) through its CEO and engineers was acutely aware of the problem with the ‘Autopilot’ failing to detect cross traffic,” Judge Reid Scott at the Circuit Court in Palm Beach County, Florida wrote.
The judge ruled that the plaintiff – Banner’s wife – can proceed to trial and file punitive damages claims against Tesla (TSLA) for gross negligence and intentional misconduct. A trial that was set for Oct. had been delayed and is yet to be rescheduled.
The judge also said Musk’s public statements about the Autopilot system significantly increased confidence in its capabilities. The plaintiff can argue that Tesla’s (TSLA) safety warnings in its manuals were inadequate, the judge added.
The latest ruling is a setback for Tesla (TSLA), which had won another Autopilot case in California last month after a jury found that the technology wasn’t responsible for the fatal crash.
Tesla (TSLA) is facing regulatory scrutiny and multiple lawsuits over its Autopilot system. Vehicles guided by Autopilot have been involved in over 700 crashes, of which at least 19 were fatal, a Washington Post analysis showed.
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